MANDURAH RAIL LINE — CLOSURE — SCHOOL
HOLIDAYS
636. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the planned closure of
the Mandurah rail line during the upcoming holiday period and concerns voiced
by the Lord Mayor regarding the impact on the CBD.
(1) Does the
minister concede that alternative transport arrangements will impact negatively
on the 60 000 passengers who rely on this line each day?
(2) Has the
minister tasked Transperth with modelling changes to transit times for these
interrupted services?
(3) Will the
minister give a firm guarantee that works will be completed within the
scheduled time frame?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER: It would appear
that a lot of other people think that they can answer this question. I would
just like the Minister for Transport to answer.
Ms R.
SAFFIOTI replied:
(1)–(3) I was somewhat surprised by those comments. In
relation to the disruption caused by building rail lines, that is what happens
when rail lines are built! As I have outlined before, when the previous Liberal–National
government was in power, it did not cause disruption to the rail lines because
it did not build any. Members may ask: what disruption did the former
government cause when it built the Ellenbrook rail line? Nothing. What
disruption occurred when it built Metro Area Express light rail? Nothing,
because it kept breaking commitments. Of course, the closure of a rail line to
make a significant change around Cockburn station is something that is required to build the Thornlie–Cockburn
Link. Do the members for Southern River and Jandakot want us to build
that Thornlie–Cockburn Link? What do the people of Canning Vale want?
They want the Thornlie–Cockburn Link of course. As a result, there will
be a closure of that rail line.
Transperth
has been working to develop the plans for the replacement bus services. It
undertook a community survey and thousands of people were interviewed
and we have discussed alternative arrangements. We have identified the key
employment centres, like Fiona Stanley Hospital, making sure we have dedicated
services linking to Fiona Stanley Hospital and other key activity centres. All
that is being planned, and very soon there will be a significant communication
of those programs.
I tell members what else is happening
on 1 January. We are reducing the cost of travelling into the city by hundreds
of dollars—thousands of dollars for many people. Are the people who are
saying that that closure is going to have an impact now saying that they want
to contribute to the fact that we are reducing the cost of travelling into the city? That commitment is not for three
or four weeks; it is forevermore. From 1 January, the highest price that
a person will be paying to get into the city will be a two-zone fare. How does
that change the economics? It changes it a lot. As I have outlined in many
responses to that curious claim that somehow
we have to subsidise the Perth city council for this, at the same time, on 1 January,
we will be bringing down the price of
catching public transport into the city by thousands of dollars for people. That
will affect everybody. On top of that, we are building new train lines to make
it easier to get into the city. We are
building the Ellenbrook rail line and the extension to Yanchep, we are
extending the rail line to Byford and we have the Thornlie–Cockburn
Link—all these new train services. Again, I do not hear the same person
or the same council saying, ''Let's contribute to that'',
because we are bringing more people into the city at a cheaper price. We are
transforming the system. All those people who want to complain, like the
opposition does on everything—whether it be the management of COVID or
keeping WA safe—will see that this is a complete transformation of our
rail network. As I said, there will be disruption, but when you build roads,
when you build rail, there will be disruption. We are working very
constructively with the key employment centres, with everyone, to make sure
that we have a plan for alternative bus services.